First degree murder charges in dog feces homicides

It's a case so bizarre, few could forget it. Now, the man arrested in connection with a double homicide surrounding dog feces faces first degree murder charges. A grand jury has indicted Randy Trent.

Police first arrested Trent on conspiracy charges. A source told NBC12 they waited until the closed grand jury proceedings to bring the more serious murder counts. The indictments don't change much for the people living in the apartments at 700 Stockton Street.

Grand jury documents, unsealed for the first time, named Randy Trent as the killer of brothers Ahmad and Ahkeem Phillips. The charges could land him in prison for the rest of his life.

We went back to the apartments with the indictments. A woman who witnessed the fight is still too scared to reveal her identity.

"I'm traumatized," she said. "I'm not comfortable here. I stay in my apartment."

Ahkeem died in the lobby. Ahmad passed away about an hour later at VCU Medical Center.

We reported the brothers and Trent had been arguing about leaving dog feces in the hallway of the building. The witness, who still lives there, said management only recently covered up the bullet holes and she still steps over dog droppings.

Not much has changed to ease people's fears. In fact, in the days following the murders she explained U-Haul after U-Haul lined the street as residents bolted out of the building.

The woman has mixed emotions about the charges. She maintained the brothers and not Trent were the original aggressors. She said she wishes she had done something so the situation hadn't escalated.

"You can't predict what would happen in the next few minutes, seconds," she told us. "I'm just sorry that what happened to him came down to this."

Trent now faces two first degree murder and two related gun charges. He's still in jail and expected back in court next month.